North Wales man Darren John Jeffreys was warned on Friday that he will receive a life sentence after he dramatically pleaded guilty to murdering his new girlfriend, who he met via the "Plenty of Fish" dating web site.

Jeffreys, 47, of Pwllglas in Mold, was due to attend a plea and directions hearing at Mold Crown Court this morning where it was widely expected that he would deny the offence.

The proceedings started off with the defendant entering seven not guilty pleas to charges of assaulting four ex-partners between 1994 and last year.

They were allowed to remain on the file.

Karen Catherall, whose family say she will be 'sorely missed' after being found dead in her Gwernaffield home

The last charge to be put to him was the murder charge and there were audible gasps from the public gallery when he pleaded guilty.

Mr Justice Wyn Williams, who conducted the hearing via a live television link, said that while it would mean a delay he would sentence in February, on the date which had been reserved for his trial.

The judge told Jeffreys: "You will appreciate that I must impose upon you a life sentence.

"But it will be necessary for me to consider what the minimum term should be that you must serve before you can be considered for release. That is primarily what the hearing will be concerned with in February."

The couple met via the Plenty of Fish dating site on the web and started a relationship a few months before her death.

The day before her body was found the couple had been seen drinking in Mold.

Bouquets of flowers left outside Karen Catherall's home on High Park, Gwernaffield (Image: Stacey Oliver)

Her body was found at her home in High Park, Gwernaffield, following an early morning emergency call from the defendant Jeffreys.

He claimed that he believed that she had been sleeping it off but that he was unable to wake her up.

But paramedics who arrived at the house found that she had been dead for some time.

A post mortem examination was carried out and the cause of death was found to be blunt force trauma to the head and mechanical asphyxiation.

White flowers and pink roses were used to spell Karen's name in a floral tribute to the mum-of-two (Image: Rob Stratford)

Prosecuting barrister John Philpotts will formally open the case at the next hearing.

Defending barrister Andrew O'Byrne QC said that it was appreciated that the judge would be attending Mold Crown Court in February in any event for the intended trial, and that would be a convenient date for the sentencing hearing.